China: Massive Steroid Pipeline to America

Posted on 12 January 2014

Dear Friend and Fellow Athlete,

Once upon a time, steroid dealers and bodybuilders relied on Mexico to be their source for legit gear. But China has taken over as America's pipeline for steroids, and there's little that the authorities can do to stop it.

China Steroids

Every month, I see another story about some huge steroid bust where somebody goes down for having thousands of units of gear. The names and locations always vary, but one theme remains the same in these busts: the dealers are getting their steroids from China.

Namely known for the Great Wall and cheaply made goods, China is quickly developing a reputation for the massive amount of raw steroid powder that they're funneling to the United States and other countries. In fact, China is the chief supplier of raw steroid materials around the world! Seeing as how steroids are pretty taboo in most countries, it's definitely worth discussing why China has become such a big supplier and if this trend will continue in the future.

Changing Suppliers

China Steroids

For years, Mexico was the United States' biggest provider of black market steroids. However, this all changed in 2005, when Operation Gear Grinder took down eight large Mexican companies along with drug traffickers. But American bodybuilders' need for gear didn't die after Operation Gear Grinder, so somebody else had to meet this demand.

This is where various Chinese companies stepped in and filled the void. Today, there are hundreds of labs and plants around China that manufacture raw steroid powder. DEA spokesman Rusty Payne of China spoke about the situation by saying, "They produce precursor powder, kits to make steroids at home, steroid products, and many chemical derivatives. It’s unregulated there, and thus legal."

Many of the manufacturers are willing to ship raw gear to people abroad, even if it's a relatively small shipment. All the buyers need to do is visit the manufacturer's website and place their order. Given the ease in which roids can be ordered from China, it's not hard to see why dealers are using this country as a source for legit gear. Upon receiving the raw steroid materials, dealers can turn the powder into finished product. However, the feds are well aware of the situation and have taken steps to prevent these activities.

Cracking down

China Steroids

US authorities have been hot on the trail of steroids coming from China ever since 2007, when Operation Raw Deal was conducted. During this four-day raid, police arrested 124 people across the United States who were part of a global steroid ring. Operation Raw Deal started with an investigation of over 30 Chinese companies that were shipping raw materials to the US. They were then able to track the shipments to 56 sites across America.

Since this time, there have been a number of other big busts in the US. From Oregon to New York, American authorities are finding huge shipments of raw materials in gyms and labs. New York is of particular interest here because, in the summer of 2013, US Customs and Border Protection made a big find in a randomly searched parcel at John F. Kennedy International Airport. What they found was a large shipment of bottles containing methandrostenolone.

It didn't take police long to trace the steroids back to a personal trainer in Edison, New Jersey. They discovered that the trainer had received large amounts of steroids from a Chinese company marked "Trendy Cosmetics." Stories like these are becoming more and more common throughout the United States, which makes me wonder if this is the long-term future of the black market steroid trade.

Impossible to control

China Steroids

Last year, US Customs and Border Protection seized over 400 pounds of steroids that were shipped from China and Hong Kong. This number sounds like a lot in itself. But it's even more eye-popping when you consider that this is 10 times more than the amount of gear seized from any other country.

Now, some people might wonder why the US doesn't just enact another Operation Gear Grinder, where they cracked down on Mexican manufacturers. For starters, there are dozens of big companies that are producing steroids in China and shipping them around the world. So it would take a truly giant operation to take down all of these companies. Plus, China isn't our close neighbor to the south - they're halfway around the world.

You also have to wonder if China would even work with the US and/or other countries to bust steroid manufacturers. At the present time, China is a rising superpower and they allow companies to produce these raw materials. So this isn't just like walking into the legally lax and impoverished Mexico to bust a few companies.

Perhaps the prominent anti-doping scientist Don Catlin worded it best with regard to China and steroids. "You go to any website and they will lead you back to China," he said. "I’ve given up on the idea that you can control it. I don’t think you can."

Since 1995, Elite Fitness has turned to its members to rate the top testosterone boosters available today. Members were instructed to vote on the best testosterone booster based on the positive impact it had on their lean muscle mass gains, reduction in body-fat, increased strength, focus, motivation and drive, and increased libido and other pro-sexual benefits.

Over 7,000 EF members voted and out of all the testosterone boosters on the market, Test Stack No.17 ranked highest receiving over 1,800 votes - almost 3 times more than the supplement in 2nd place.